NORTH MUSKEGON, MI – Like in 2010, the upcoming season promises to be special for the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex in the Muskegon State Park.

This is a Winter Olympic year as the local recreational center and junior training facility will share in the interest that winter sports will generate from Sochi, Russia. The 2014 Winter Olympics will be Feb. 7-23 and televised on the channels of NBC Sports.

“It brings a lot of focus to some obscure sports in the winter games like luge,” longtime Muskegon Winter Sports Complex Director Jim Rudicil said of the 2014 Winter Olympics. “People will be seeing it on TV every night. It inspires some to get out and live their own Olympic dream and it is great for your youth development programs.”

The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex was blessed with an early season, pre-Thanksgiving blanket of snow over the recreation area’s 500 acres in the Muskegon State Park, 462 Scenic Dr., just north of the park’s Block House Hill.

The complex’s winter season was not scheduled to begin until Dec. 1, weather permitting. Most years, promoters are happy to have the luge, cross-country skiing and skating activities open for Christmas Break. Those are the years that Rudicil describes as two seasons – Christmas Break and the traditional snowy months of January and February in Muskegon.

The ice rink usually needs about 4 inches of snow to get the 2-acre outdoor ice sheet prepared for pond hockey, speed skating and family skating activities. The three miles of cross-country ski trails won’t open with anything less than 6 inches of snow and closer to a foot is usually needed for snowshoeing through the Muskegon State Park dunelands, Rudicil said.

“We hope to always be open for Christmas Break through President’s Day Weekend,” Rudicil said, adding that the complex season will go through the first week of March or longer, weather permitting.

This is the 29th year of the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex, which features an 850-foot developmental luge track. The luge track prepares athletes for training in Lake Placid, N.Y. and Park City, Utah – sites of the two international luge facilities in the United States. But the local track also is home to the Muskegon Luge Club, a 100-member organization that offers youth and adult recreational leagues during the week nights and a Learn to Luge program on weekends.

The Muskegon facility launched the career of Olympic silver and bronze medalist Mark Grimmette, a Laketon Township youth when the facility was constructed in 1984. After competing in the Winter Olympics five times from 1996 to 2010, Grimmette has become the director of sports programing on the USA Luge’s national coaching staff.

Rudicil – a boyhood friend and fellow Reeths-Puffer High School graduate of Grimmette’s – is excited about the next generation of Muskegon County athletes hoping to walk in Grimmette’s footsteps. USA Luge team member Jake Hyrns, 20, of Whitehall is attempting to capture one of two doubles luge Olympic spots with partner Andrew Sherk.

Also on the USA Junior Luge Team are Whitehall residents Riely Stohr, 17, and Anna Basaj, 14. Rudicil said he hopes this Winter Olympic season will inspire other young athletes to get involved with luge at the Winter Sports Complex.

“It is a symbol of pride for our program and the community to have such athletes come from Muskegon County,” Rudicil said. “It is so great to put our kids on the world stage and be a part of that. Where else can you get that in West Michigan?”

Here is what the complex has to offer:

• Five miles of lighted cross-country ski trails groomed both for traditional Nordic skiing and skate skiing. There are 2.5 miles of additional, advanced trails.

• Some 800 acres of Muskegon Park duneland open for snowshoeing adventures.

• The 850-foot luge track that was constructed where an old toboggan run was built in the 1930s when the site was Civil Conservation Corps camp.

• A 320-foot Fiberglas wheeled-luge track that is open in the summer and provides backup in the winter when snow and ice conditions are not conducive for the main luge track.

• The 2-acre ice sheet which has become one of the most popular features, especially for local residents and families. The facility includes a quarter-mile skating trail through the woods.

• A small sliding hill for young children and families.

• The Sports Lodge, which has concession stands for food and beverages, equipment rentals, restrooms and a warming area with a fireplace.

• Winter camping has been reintroduced to the Muskegon State Park because of the growing popularity of the Winter Sports Complex with a fabric-wooden “yurt” for rent and nearly 100 winter campsites across Scenic Drive.

• New this year is a biathlon program that combines shooting and cross-country skiing. The complex has five pellet guns and participants will ski a 2.5k course with an opportunity for two target-shooting sessions along the way.

Even without perfect snow conditions, the Winter Sports Complex drew 50,000 visitors over the course of 12 months last year, 35,000 of them in the winter. Rudicil said that summer luge track has become a popular attraction for day-use and campers visiting the Muskegon State Park – the ninth most visited attraction in Michigan with nearly 1 million guests a year.

The Winter Sports Complex has been on a steady growth mode the past decade and in becoming the key winter attraction for Muskegon County tourism.

“The complex is our main attraction for winter recreation,” said Bob Lukens, Muskegon County community development director. “It is important in drawing out-of-state visitors and is also a great day-trip for those in our region. It is hugely important for our winter tourism.”

The Winter Sports Complex budget has grown from $70,000 a decade ago to nearly $300,000 for snowy years. All complex revenues go directly into facility operations and maintenance, Rudicil said.

The Winter Sports Complex vehicles need a Michigan state park “passport” or must pay a day-use fee. A daily ski-trail pass is $7 and snowshoe or skating pass $5. Cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals are $8 for three hours and ice skates $4 for the day as there also is hockey equipment available for rent.

The Winter Sports Complex offers a $250 “family season pass” for unlimited skating, skiing and snowshoeing for the entire family. The pass is being offered at $125 prior to the start of the season. Equipment rentals would be in addition to the season pass, Rudicil said.

As for the luge, there are adult and youth leagues. But, for the uninitiated, the Learn to Luge program is a two-and-a-half hour session on the luge track with expert instruction, use of a luge sled and all of the safety equipment needed. From Friday night through Sunday, the complex offers 11 sessions for the weekend for groups up to 30.

The Winter Sports Complex has gone to an online, pre-registration system on the organization’s website. Luge participants must buy the $45 introductory sessions in advance. Most Saturday sessions are sold out by the first of the year, Rudicil said.

There are “weekend warriors” – adults who are adventurous and want to try a new recreational sport – and scout troops that are the main luge users, Rudicil said. Scouts from all over the Upper Midwest – Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus and Detroit – make a weekend outing in Muskegon, many of them staying overnight on the USS Silversides, he said.

The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex’s main winter event is Party in Your Parka on Saturday, Jan. 25 – a celebration of Michigan’s birthday and the state’s winter outdoor recreation. All of the complex’s facilities will be operating, weather permitting, along with an art fair, live music and food and beverage tent featuring Michigan wines and beers.

Party in Your Parka is one of four signature events that the supporting Muskegon Sports Council – a non-profit organization – has to raise funds for improvements to the Winter Sports Complex. Party in Your Parka drew 3,500 people last season.

The group also has Oktoberfest with beer gardens and live music along the ski trails in early October, the Scaredy Pants Trail of Fear -- a Halloween Party and haunted trail -- and the Earth Wind and Tired 5k Run in early May.

With the promise of traditional Muskegon winter weather, the sports council and the tourism industry are looking forward to this Winter Olympic season.

“There will be more focus on the Winter Sports Complex because of the Winter Olympics,” Lukens said, pointing to pre-Christmas Lansing cable television ads that will feature the luge. “The luge is a very intriguing sport and very appealing to many.”

For more information, check out the complex website at www.msports.org or telephone the Winter Sports Complex at (877) 879-5843 (TRY-LUGE) for more information and weather conditions. The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex is open during the winter season seven-days-a-week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Dave Alexander covers business and local government for MLive/The Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at dalexan1@mlive.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.